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Meet the ProTrainings Team

Our Mission

ProTrainings is a UK company offering online CPR, First Aid, Infection Control, Manual Handling, and Instructor Training for the UK and Europe. The training curriculum offered by ProTrainings was created as a joint effort between the ITG Instructor Training Ltd in the UK and ProTrainings, LLC in the USA. Over the past nine years, these two companies have certified more than 430,000 individuals.

Our mission begins and ends with saving lives. This is done by creating training programmes that increase the amount of information remembered, are easily available, and give providers the confidence to act decisively and knowledgeably when an emergency occurs. Our courses offer this while limiting the time professionals spend away from family or work.

ProTrainings solutions also help to solve large-scale workplace problems by replacing old methods of training with new, cost effective methods of training.

Our Story

All training and certification courses offered by ProTrainings meet or exceed the standards mandated by the UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the European Resuscitation Council (ERC), the UK Resuscitation Council, and the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR). We use the latest technology in our comprehensive websites to ensure full understanding by using video based training and giving students access to this after the course.

We have a national network of instructors and a full range of 100% classroom courses including HSE approved First Aid at Work (FAW) and Emergency First Aid at Work (EFAW) and these can be found at www.ProCourses.co.uk or by emailing us.

The UK Team

Keith Sleightholm

KEITH SLEIGHTHOLM

Managing Director and Co-Founder

Keith has been involved in First Aid for many years, starting 32 years ago as a rescue marshal at motor racing events including Formula 1, he spent most of his weekends at Brands Hatch, Silverstone and race tracks throughout the UK and Europe. Keith has a vast range of experience in training in First Aid, Health & Safety subjects and other subjects.

Keith has been teaching first aid to individuals and businesses for many years in all aspects from Adult to Paediatric Care. He is the founder of ITG Instructor Training Ltd which specialises in helping hundreds of Businesses and Individuals each year to provide their own First Aid in house or develop their own successful first aid businesses and holds numerous accreditations for Instructor Training.

Keith heads is our Training Director developing new programs and compliance. He also is the main presenter of our videos and The First Aid Show.

Liz Sleightholm

LIZ SLEIGHTHOLM

Co-Founder

Liz works in Sales and Marketing developing new markets as well as customer support. She has experience in teaching over the last 10 years and comes from an accounts, computer and web design background with MCSE.

Damien Watling

DAMIEN WATLING

Compliance Manager

Damien is the Compliance Manager at ProTrainings Europe Limited. Part of his responsibility is to ensure we maintain a level of standard that reinforces quality and due diligence for qualifications and courses we provide. Damien also oversees instructor approvals, centre registrations, seeks new recognition and endorsements, conducts internal quality assurance reviews and supports our instructors on ensuring they comply with regulatory and statutory requirements.

Damien is a business graduate who studied and completed a business management degree at Coventry and UCS University. During his years of study and work, he has received many enjoyable and challenging experiences which have rewarded him with the tools and skills to manage, oversee and work hard in the business sector. Damien has also been privileged to provide voluntary work in South Africa giving him a new perspective on how to be smart, effective and efficient in his role as the compliance manager.

Damiens biggest passion is his family and he is very grateful to be married and to have three incredible children who he is devoted to. Part of Damiens hobbies is to socialise, watch movies, read books, travel, have quality family time and to participate in recreational activities such as sport.

Sarah Smith

SARAH SMITH

Office Administrator

Sarah joined ProTrainings in December 2016, following a background working in the education and charitable trust sectors, as an Administrator/Finance Assistant. Sarah was originally part of the Customer Support Team and online chat. She has since taken on the role of Office Administrator.

Robert Ritchens

ROBERT RITCHENS

Course Manager

Robert joined the ProTrainings team in June 2015 and is now the Sales Department Manager. He assists customers and instructors and oversees administration of current clients and aims to give them the best support throughout training and also proactively seeks for new customers.

In his spare time, Rob loves to socialise with friends but also has a continuous love for work!

Di Duffett

DI DUFFETT

Course Assistant

Di joined the ProTrainings team in June 2014, after many years in her previous employment, a change of direction was due. She works as the Compliance Co-Ordinator, checking that the instructors follow the correct procedures as well as completing their IQA reports..

Another part of her job is to process all prospective new ProTrainings centres before final approval. She is responsible for processing regulated courses ready for certification and liaising with the awarding body. She gained her First Aid at Work certificate with ProTrainings and now feels confident to use her knowledge should the need arise.

Out of work she spends a lot of time with her family of two children, Paul and Jayne, and four grandchildren, Luke, twins Molly and Ellie, and Harry. Di enjoys country music, football and relaxing watching TV. She organises a large charity dinner/dance and has done so for the past twenty one years ... and counting! Di's favourite places to visit are New York & Nashville.

Account Manager

Paula Bush

PAULA BUSH

Customer Support

Paula is the longest-serving employee in the ProTrainings Team and has provided fellow employees with guidance and help. Paula based in Spain and works in customer support dealing with calls and emails for all our programs. She oversees invoices and supplies, seeks sales and provides instructor support. She also manages our large accounts and provides assistance when necessary.

In her spare time, she enjoys travelling, spending time with her family and friends.

Lorraine Crowder

LORRAINE CROWDER

Senior Customer Support and Online Chat

Lorraine joined the ProTrainings support team in October 2015, following a background working in customer service, administration, education, retail, law, insurance, banking, accountancy & audit. She thoroughly enjoys assisting our customers and instructors on both the telephone and live chat and also meeting those attending training sessions at our training centre.

She looks forward to speaking with you shortly on the telephone/live chat!

Paige Buckle

PAIGE BUCKLE

Customer Support and Online Chat

Paige joined the ProTrainings support team in April 2018, following a background working in customer service and administration. Paige, supports our customers and instructors through the live online chat, and telephone.

She looks forward to speaking with you shortly via the online chat or telephone!

Michael Kidd

MICHAEL KIDD

Training Development

Michael has many years’ experience as a manager in the health and social care sector and in training and development. Michael works at reviewing and developing current and future courses for Protrainings.eu, as well as delivering ITG courses like the Award in Education and Training and FAWI.

Away from work, Michael enjoys spending time with his family and friends.

Sue Smith

SUE SMITH

Instructor Training and Internal Quality Assurance

Sue is our main Instructor Trainer running our First Aid at Work Instructor courses as well as our regulated qualifications which included include AET, Assessor, Health & Safety, Food Hygiene and other subjects. Sue also provides assistance with internal and external quality assurance for our courses as well as course development, mainly on the instructor side.

Sue is ex-millitary and has years of training experience starting with physical fitness in the Army then qualifying to Cert Ed, Assessor, Internal Verifier and many other qualifications.

Sylvia Anderson

SYLVIA ANDERSON

Instructor Trainer

Sylvia has many years of practical first aid experience in the emergency sector and is a qualified EMT. Sylvia is one of our instructors that delivers our first aid instructor course along with other update courses for instructors.

Nicola Bell BVSc BSc MRCVS (OV)

NICOLA BELL BVSC BSC MRCVS (OV)

Our pet first aid vet

Nicki qualified from the University of Liverpool in 2003 and joined the team at Thamesmead in 2014. She has a particular interest in geriatric medicine and acupuncture which she has been using since 2008 for a variety of conditions in pets. In her spare time, Nicki enjoys walking with her Labrador Elsa (in the films) and she also owns four cats, Rodney and Trigger.

Martin Wick

MARTIN WICK

Health and Safety Delivery

Martin is involved in the design and delivery of our Health & Safety courses at provider and instructor levels. He has a vast experience in Health & Safety and teaching. He always teaches his classes in a friendly informative manner and loves the experience of training new people.

Steve Greaves

STEVE GREAVES

Office Administrator

I am a graduate from Essex University and successfully achieved a
master’s degree in marine biology. I have many interests which include
socialising, music, watching movies and I really enjoy scuba diving
which is how I met Keith and Liz.

I run the certificates
department at ProTrainings EU and I am responsible for all the shipping
and dispatching of ITG Supplies. I am also very proud to be part of the
ProTrainings Team.

Deco

DECO

Head Pet First Aid Actress

Deco is our main actress in our Pet First Aid and Dog Care courses. She loves to ham up various injuries for the camera and she has a large following on Facebook. Deco is currently training her new sister Ella to work with her on new pet programs being designed. See Deco and Ella on our Security Dog First Aid course and Dog First Aid course.

Ella

ELLA

Pet first Aid Actress and office dog

Ella is not as good as her sister Deco (as Deco says), she does not have the commitment to filming but she loves all the attention. Visit the Pet First Aid course to see her in action. See Deco and Ella on our Security Dog First aid courses and Dog First Aid course.

Elsa

ELSA

Pet First Aid Actress

Elsa is a Black Lab and she appears in our vet films with Nicki our vet, on our pet first aid and dog care films. Visit the Pet First Aid course to see her in action. See Deco and Ella on our Security Dog First aid courses and Dog First Aid course.

Amanda Shawver Forbes

AMANDA SHAWVER FORBES

Customer Happiness Hero

Andrea Konsoer

ANDREA KONSOER

Group Success Specialist

Andrea recently graduated Indiana University with an MFA in Acting. She has performed as a professional actor at many regional theatres in Detroit and surrounding areas. Besides the arts, she enjoys traveling, good restaurants, binge Netflix watching and spending time with her son and husband. She loves helping people and is blessed to have joined the Protrainings team.

Barb Andersen

BARB ANDERSEN

Office Manager

After graduating from High School, Barb started her career working in the Mortgage Service Department at a local Savings and Loan Assoc. She started her second and most rewarding career as a stay at home mom and a school volunteer. Barb is currently ProTrainings' Office Manager along with printing and mailing out the Certification Certificates. She also does the bookkeeping for the company. One of the best parts of her job is working with her 2 boys. Barb loves hanging out with family and friends.

Cara Armour

CARA ARMOUR

Pet First Aid Consultant

Cara's life-long love of pets turned into a dream career in 2003 with her husband Gerard Armour. They had met that same year at a dog park. Together they created Active Paws Inc., a professional pet care business based in the greater Boston, MA area. In 2009, she was awarded Pet Sitter of the Year, the industry’s highest honor awarded by Pet Sitters International. In that same year the company was awarded the Angie’s List Super Service Award, in 2011 the Tails Reader’s choice award, and in 2013, the Angie’s List Super Service Award again. Active Paws Inc. expanded into a grooming and holistic pet supply store, in addition to the pet sitting.

Since 2003, she has been trained by the American Red Cross as well as several veterinarians in Pet First Aid and CPR. In 2011 she was ready to teach her own classes, so she completed an instructor training course and became a certified pet First Aid and CPR instructor. In 2016, when she discovered ProPetHero and how ProTrainings was bringing ER-veterinarian–instructed training to everyone, she knew she had to be a part of "that awesome" and joined the ProTrainings family, creators of ProPetHero.

In her spare time she is a volunteer and foster home for The Boxer Rescue Inc, a health-conscious breeder of Boxers, as well as an active member in both the Middlesex Boxer Club and Wachusett Kennel Club. She has been a mentor to many in the pet industry as well as those in the small business world.

When not working or volunteering, she is traveling to agility, lure coursing, and conformation trials. When not at a trial or finding a good home for a Boxer through the rescue, she can be found training with her pups, hiking with them on trails, or playing in her neglected garden.

Chris Fugitt

CHRIS FUGITT

User Experience Designer

Chris graduated with a BS from Cornerstone University in 2006. He was a
photographer and image editor for 7 years. Before joining ProTrainings
in 2013, he spent time developing websites where he developed empathy
for users. Chris works on a variety of projects which include listening
to customer feedback, designing and testing web pages, and creating
usable and enjoyable experiences. He enjoys spending time with his wife, Rachel, participating in endurance sports, and exploring Michigan.

Dan Hendrick

DAN HENDRICK

Senior Group Consultant

With years of consultative experience in corporate service, Dan partners with clients to develop and implement successful automation strategies that solve the challenging training issues administrators face.

DAWN VAN BUSKIRK

HIPAA Compliance Officer, COO & Co-Founder of ProHIPAA

Denise Carpenter

DENISE CARPENTER

Donna Wilson

DONNA WILSON

Compliance Manager

Donna's hopes and dreams were to become a full-time wife and mother. Boy, did things change when she found that she loved working with small businesses! So, she began spending time with local business owners learning business consulting. After years of training in business administration, management, marketing, and customer retention, she opened her own virtual staffing business in 2010—OfficeTaskForce.com—and found a new way of working at home while doing what she loved.

A year later, ProTrainings came to Donna for virtual help in the area of compliance. As they worked together, her virtual assistants helped to support their growth as well. When looking for a Customer Solutions Manager, Donna’s name was unanimously spoken. She took the position in January of 2015, deciding to put her business on hold to work with the company.

On her down time, Donna enjoys singing in the choir, using sign language, and teaching children karate at her husband’s karate studio. Donna has five children, five grandchildren, and a sweet little dog named, Lucy.

James Hayes

JAMES HAYES

Group Solutions Consultant

Jared Zimmer

JARED ZIMMER

Group Solutions Consultant

Jared graduated from Grand Valley State University with honors in 2010 with a BA in Political Science. Jared joined the ProTrainings family shortly thereafter as the online chat operator, filling the newly created position. Within 15 months, Jared joined the Group Solutions team. Jared's duties include managing the accounts of companies, schools, and other groups who use ProTrainings to train their staff, as well as consulting those inquiring about new training solutions to meet their health and safety requirements.

The most vital parts of Jared's life are his faith and his family. He considers himself particularly blessed to have married the love of his life, Jenny, in June 2013, and to be the father of their three young daughters, Esther, Amelia, and Winifred. If you're one of Jared's clients, there's a good chance that you already know all about his kids.

In his free time (what's that?) Jared loves to be at home with his wife and daughters (who keep him very, very busy). Jared also enjoys playing ping pong at the office, playing Nintendo games, drinking craft beer (and the mass-produced stuff, too), spending time with old friends, serving Mass at his church, and seeing his parents/siblings/niece/nephews at Family Dinner Night every week.

Jason Carpenter

JASON CARPENTER

Jeff Meyers

JEFF MEYERS

EMT-P, Instructor Trainer & Skill Evaluator

Jeff is a licensed paramedic that has been teaching CPR & First aid for over 10 years. Jeff has worked in the clinical areas of hospitals and projects helping companies implement pharmacy & good laboratory practices. Jeff emphasizes in his classes that learning needs to be fun, no pressure and interactive. He strives to make sure that your learning experience is memorable and fun.

Jennifer Martin

JENNIFER MARTIN

Customer Solutions Representative & Compliance Specialist

Jennifer graduated from high school in Broken Arrow, OK, a “tiny” suburb of Tulsa, with a class of 995 students in 1994. After graduation, she took a bit of time off of school to decide whether to pursue her dream of acting or go a different route; during this time, she worked 3 jobs to stay busy. Shortly after, Jennifer started a family with her high-school sweetheart; she attended school and began working in Healthcare. She was introduced and began working with ProTrainings in July of 2011 in compliance efforts and customer solutions. She enjoys spending her free time traveling, or dreaming of traveling, with her family and friends. She loves babies, puppies and baby goats in pajamas.

Jody Marvin

JODY MARVIN

EMT-S, Training & Compliance Director

Jody has over 20 years of experience teaching CPR and First Aid as an instructor and instructor trainer. Graduating from Montcalm City College in 1992, Jody has worked in EMS for 14 years applying the knowledge he taught. Now Jody assists with the development of ProTrainings.com curricula and ensures that it meets compliance and regulatory standards for workplaces. Jody also develops and manages ProCPR’s skill evaluator network for the blended learning program. In his free time Jody spends time with his family and enjoys playing the trumpet, harmonica and guitar.

Juliana Kartsimas

JULIANA KARTSIMAS

Ken Trupke

KEN TRUPKE

President

Malcolm Woodbury

MALCOLM WOODBURY

Group Success Specialist

Malcolm has a bachelor’s degree in Communications Arts from Gannon University in Erie, PA and has developed into quite the communicator working in the field of distribution for several years. When he’s not “bringing the Happy” to customers he enjoys weekend Netflix marathons with his new wife or playing basketball to tame his competitive spirit! He originally stumbled upon ProTrainings in 2015 and was immediately drawn in by the team environment and the ethical values the Happiness Department exhibits. He is excited and eager to be a part of an organization that truly places the customer first.

Melissa Hendrickson

MELISSA HENDRICKSON

Paul Martin

PAUL MARTIN

Graphic Designer & Co-Founder

Paul is an entrepreneur and web designer with a passion for graphic design and building communities with social media. Paul holds a degree in Multimedia and even before graduating from college, Paul had great success designing websites and building communities. Paul is the designer/owner of many websites, the most notable being NarniaFans.com, the biggest Narnia movie news website, with over 7,000,000 followers, and MatrixFans.net, which was ranked in the top seven thousand websites in 2003. Paul loves film and film making and is an avid video editor. Paul creates many of the graphics and branding that appears all over the ProTrainings Europe websites, as well as assists in planning the social marketing campaigns for the company. He also makes sure that the blogs are all running smoothly and up-to-date.

Rob Van Buskirk

ROB VAN BUSKIRK

HIPAA Compliance Officer, CEO & Co-Founder of ProHIPAA

Roy Shaw

ROY SHAW

EMT-P, Lead Instructor & Director

Roy developed his passion for saving lives while serving in the U.S. military as a combat medic. Roy pursued this dream, graduating from University as a paramedic in 1992. After University, he worked in emergency medical services until 2006. During this time, Roy worked as an Instructor Trainer and Certified Training Centre Manager and eventually went on to start his own training centre.

Roy has since co-founded ProCPR which later developed into a multi-training entity, ProTrainings.com. He has authored curricula for Healthcare Provider CPR, Basic CPR and First Aid, ACLS, Bloodborne pathogens and AED use. Roy is the primary trainer in the ProCPR, ProBloodBorne and ProFirstAid videos and provides ongoing quality control for all participants. In addition, Roy oversees the development of ProTrainings.com curricula and ensures that it meets compliance and regulatory standards for workplaces.

Ryan O'Donnell

RYAN O'DONNELL

Customer Solutions Representative

Ryan joined ProTrainings in 2016 as part of the Customer Solutions team.

Before ProTrainings, Ryan was at one of the U.S.'s leading not-for-profit performance arts centers, The Ordway in St. Paul, MN. Previously, he spent time in Chicago at a start-up public relations agency and in Minneapolis with the Minnesota Timberwolves. When Ryan is not forming relationships with customers, he enjoys exploring with his dog (Elvis), traveling, biking, basketball, and buffalo wings.

Scott Andersen

SCOTT ANDERSEN

Director of Technology & Co-Founder

Scott is an entrepreneur and software engineer who is passionate about building companies that leverage technology to solve real problems. Scott built the first iteration of the ProTrainings website during his final semester of University. He has his educational background in Computer Science and Business Administration and is responsible for technology and marketing strategy at ProTrainings.

Tina Burley

TINA BURLEY

Customer Solutions Representative

TJ Gabet

TJ GABET

Education Group Specialist

TJ graduated from High School in Fort Wayne, IN. He then went on to go to school and play baseball at Indiana Tech. After playing ball for a year, he found a love for singing and playing guitar. That led to writing songs and performing around camp fires with his friends. Now, he is a songwriter/performer making his way in the music industry with his band. TJ is excited to join Protrainings in 2016. He has a love for this industry and truly believes in his roll to help save lives.

Tyler Accardi

TYLER ACCARDI

Marketing

Tyler has helped promote and support our courses and has worked with our UK-wide instructor network to help them successfully promote the online / refresher courses to complement their classroom courses. Tyler also helps to design and write copy for many informational web pages and leaflets.

Vicki Hazzard

VICKI HAZZARD

Customer Solutions Representative & Compliance Specialist

Vicki graduated from Hyles-Anderson College in 2000 with a degree in Secondary Education. She married that same year and has 2 great kids. She's worked in many capacities including human resources, customer service and sales. She came to work with Protrainings in 2012 and has worked with Student CPR, Compliance and Customer Support. She enjoys spending time with her family, being active in their church and Disney planning.